


You should have listened, but we should have noticed

by Bubballoo



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Angst, Caring, Cute, Fainting, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mild cake, Overworked, Passes out, Read please, Sickness, Song writing, Stubborn luke, Sweet, Tired Luke, boys are really cute, exhausted, show, sick, stage, studio
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 08:51:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11733705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bubballoo/pseuds/Bubballoo
Summary: Luke is stubborn and regularly overworks himself.The boys get concerned when he ignores their warnings.





	1. Chapter 1

Ashton let out a deep breath and set his drumsticks down. He was so exhausted from practicing all day.  
He ran a hand tiredly over his face and stood up, grabbing his jacket left on the chair next to him.

He looked over at the other three still working earnestly on their pieces. They should probably get some sleep soon, too. 

He tapped Calum's shoulder to get his attention. "I'm gonna head to bed, okay?"

Calum glanced up startled. "Oh, yeah sure." He reached up and pat his back. "See ya in the morning, Ash."

Ashton smiled tiredly. "Goodnight." He turned to the others and raised his voice a bit to get their attention. "Guys, I'm heading in. I'll see you in the morning."

Luke and Michael both looked up. "Oh, wow already? Must be pretty late," Michael said.

Ashton chuckled. "It was around two last time I checked."

Michael's eyes widened. He didn't expect it to be that late. "Oh. Well then I'll probably leave soon, too."

The older nodded. "Okay. Well, night you two. Make sure you actually sleep tonight."

Michael rolled his eyes. Overprotective much, Ashton? "We will, night, Ash."

"Goodnight, Ashton," Luke told him.

Ashton smiled at his band members and headed out of the studio room, walking to the small bunk rooms on the second level. They were there for when they stayed late, which happened quite often. 

 

The remaining three turned back to their tasks and kept working on their peices. Calum was trying to come up with and arrange song lyrics, Michael was strumming out tunes on his guitar, and Luke was helping the both of them.

Luke was a little stressed about this if he were to be honest. The album had to come out in a couple months and there was still so much to to do. Plus they also had some shows to perform.

He breathed an irritated sigh and rubbed his eyes. That last line didn't make sense. What was another metaphor for the distance between a couple? Oceans are typical and so overused, something like skies maybe?

"Luke, which chord does this sound better in?"

Luke faced Michael and gestured for him to show him. The boy looked down and then started picking out a tune. It was rather good and he tapped his foot to it, easily following along. The sound soon stopped and Michael looked up. "Yay or nay?"

Luke nodded. "It's good. Play it in the other one."

Michael obliged and Luke hummed to it as he played it through. "They're both good, but the second might make me and Calum struggle with a few notes."

Michael made a mental note. "Alright, thanks."

Luke acknowledged him and turned back to his pages of haphazard lyric ideas. He looked over at Calum. The tan boy was working thoroughly on a much better organised sheet. He was doing a lot better than Luke.

He flicked his tired eyes back down and began to work on his words again. He had to finish this.

The room was silent for a long while, with the exception of Michael fiddling around with the guitar.

It was probably nearing an hour after Ashton left before both Calum and Michael started having trouble staying awake any longer. 

Michael groaned and set the guitar in his lap as he laid back and closed his eyes. "I'm so tired," he complained.

Calum chuckled at him. "Go to sleep then, mate."

Michael groaned again. He should be working. But Calum was right, he would be of no help if he didn't take care of himself first. 

"Fine. Must be nearing three at least anyways."

Calum nodded. "Yeah. I might come too, soon. I'll start wrapping up."

Michael yawned and stood up to put his guitar and laptop away. "Alright. Well I'll say goodnight anyway."

He came back over to Luke on the couch and patted him on the shoulder. "Night, Luke."

Luke looked up at him with a tired smile. "Goodnight, Michael."

Michael walked over to the door and ruffled Calum's hair teasingly on the way out.

Calum laughed and slapped his hand. "Oi!"

Michael grinned and shut the door behind him. He couldn't wait to sleep.

 

Calum smoothed his hair and fell back heavily onto the couch next to Luke.  
Luke bumped slightly with the movement. It made his head throb a little bit and he swayed just the tiniest amount. 

Calum didn't notice and he sighed and began shuffling through his sheets of paper. "I'm going to head to bed after this to get some sleep."

Luke nodded at him. "Okay." He continued scratching out words and scribbling new ones.

There was a pause. Calum looked at him. "You're not coming?"

The blonde straightened. "Oh! Sorry I didn't realise."

Calum shrugged. "It's fine. I just thought you would be coming."

Luke looked down at the floor and hesitated. He shouldn't sleep. He has so much work to get done! And not enough songs have-

"You should come with me, Luke. You'd be all on your own down here and you have to get some sleep," Calum insisted. 

But Luke appeared to not have heard, or he was ignoring him. Calum suspected the latter.

He leaned forward and brought a hand under Luke's chin, forcing him to look at him. He looked at Luke carefully, the boy squirming subtly and trying to avoid his best friend's dark eyes.  
Calum brought both hands to cup his face to stop his moving. "Stop moving, Luke."  
Luke pouted at him. 

Just as he thought, Luke's blue eyes were bloodshot and seemed to waver in focus. His body was leaning a tad towards him and his eyelids would blink frequently.

Calum let go of him and sighed unhappily at the familiar sight. Luke already knew what he was going to say. "Luke, you're clearly exhausted and your body desperately needs sleep. You can't continue working like this or you'll tire yourself out."

Luke stubbornly turned away from him and Calum grabbed his shoulder to turn him back around.

"I'm serious. I know the album's stressing you out, but you do have to take care of yourself, Luke."

Luke sighed. "I know, calum. I'm fine. We're all tired but I just need to finish this last verse."

Calum opened his mouth to protest but Luke cut him off. "Just this one verse and I promise I'll get some sleep. Okay?"

Calum grit his teeth. He didn't really believe Luke but he had to give him the benefit of the doubt. He wasn't a little kid who struggled with his homework anymore. He was older now, he could take care of himself. 

Calum held up his hands. "Fine then." Luke grinned. "But please don't overwork yourself, Lukey. Not like before."

Luke agreed. He leaned over and gave Calum a hug, wrapping his arms around his neck. Calum gave in and returned the hug, closing his eyes against Luke's soft sweater.

They pulled apart and Calum stood up. "Goodnight, Luke. Don't stay up too late."

"Night, Cal."

Calum looked at him once more before crossing the room and exiting through the door.

 

Luke heard the click of the door closing and sighed. He rubbed his bleary eyes wishing he could join Calum and the others. But he couldn't. He had to finish this.

Luke checked his watch. Almost four in the morning. He found the silence a little foreboding and lonely but he ignored it.

Picking up his paper, he read over what was written so far.  
Good...  
Good...  
That one needed a different word so it wasn't repetitive.  
Also good...  
Hm, rewrite this one.

He continued reading, crossing out mistakes and writing in replacements. Then he got up to get Michael and Calum's lyric sheets to put together the song. 

He picked a few lines from each, throwing in a few of his own that matched, grouping some similar ones that would work well. He imagined them with Ashton's beats and nodded his head approvingly.

And for the next three hours, that's how Luke spent his time. He wrote, arranged, even putting together some melodies and tunes, and he was lost. He ignored all his exhaustion.


	2. Chapter 2

Michael groaned and stretched his sore back. He let out a relieved sigh when the kinks disappeared and snuggled his face back into the pillow. He drifted back into a semiconscious sleep.

Then he felt the need to pee.

Damnit! Always when he just about to fall asleep. "What did I ever do wrong?" He whined into his pillow. Obviously getting no reply, the pale boy blinked his sleepy eyes. He slipped out of his warm blanket and got to his feet.   
He hurried out of the small bunker with bare feet, he didn't plan to stay out of bed long.

Padding down the hallway, he deciding to peek into the other rooms to see if the other boys were sleeping. Opening the doors a crack, he saw that Calum and Ashton were indeed asleep and snoring.

He chuckled and hurried along to the bathroom that was on the studio floor. Arriving outside the door, he entered and took care of his business. 

Michael washed his hands and opened the door to enter the hallway. He was just about to continue on his way to his warm bed when he paused.

The studio door was closed. He scratched his dyed platinum hair that was a mess. The studio door was usually only closed when in use for the soundproofing. 

He would've ignored it if he weren't curious. The sound team might've closed it accidentally but that was unlikely since they were the ones that made the rule. Besides they wouldn't have been here since yesterday afternoon.

Shaking his head, "Screw it," he said, and barged open the door. Glancing around, he scoffed. Empty, just like he th-

 

Wait. "Luke?"   
What the hell was Luke still doing in here?  
He furrowed his eyebrows. Come to think of it, he didn't remember seeing Luke in one of the bunkers.

Receiving no answer, Michael crept closer to the young blonde curled up on the sofa. He was sleeping?

Oh shit, did he not leave the studio at all last night?   
"Damn it, Luke. Calum's not gonna be happy."

He sighed. It seems like he stayed up all night and hasn't allowed himself to sleep at all. He glanced at all the papers strewn around the sleeping boy. 

He knelt in front of Luke. His face was slack with exhaustion and his eyes had dark bags underneath. What was he supposed to do? And it was cold in here too, the heating wouldn't be on since it was only the four of them in the building at the moment.

He guessed it was around early morning and the other boys wouldn't be awake until at least lunch.  
And he couldn't move Luke to a bed where he'd be more comfortable since it would wake him up.

He reached a hand out and brushed a piece of hair out of his face. He would just make him as comfortable as he could here and let him sleep since he clearly needed it. 

Michael stood back up and headed out of the room to the stairs. Entering the spare bunker, he grabbed a blanket and pillow and brought them down to the chilly studio.

He crossed over to the sleeping Luke and knelt on the floor in front of him. He brought the pillow in his arms up and placed it at one end of the couch. Then he reached out and gently placed a hand on Luke's shoulder. At least he had a sweater so he wouldn't feeeze. 

Luke was sitting sideways on the couch with his legs up and his arms wrapped around them, his head resting on his knees. Such an uncomfortable position.

Michael placed his other hand over Luke's and softly unwound them from his legs. He repeated it with his other hand so both his arms were free.

He placed an arm behind Luke's back and the other behind his knees, similar to holding him bridal style, but with his butt still on the couch.

Then he layed him back down flat. Luke's head touched the pillow and his head lolled to the side. He grumble quietly.

Michael waited a moment, then withdrew his arms from underneath him. He leaned over and removed his shoes also.

Then he gathered the blanket he brought, and layed it over Luke, tucking it over him firmly and up to his chin. Once satisfied with his work, he stood back

Now Luke was confortably sleeping on the couch.  
Giving himself a pat on the back, he pressed a light kiss to Luke's temple then quietly left the room and closed the door.

He walked back up the stairs and to his small bunk room, immediately jumping right in and going back to sleep from the late night the boys all had.


	3. Chapter 3

Ashton was the first to wake. Well, if you don't include bathroom breaks.  
He woke around ten in the morning which wasn't bad. That means he got at least eight hours sleep, so he was pretty well rested.

The first thing he did was check to see if any of his band mates were up. He found two of them still passed out, he didn't know what times they went to sleep and so he let them be. Except the youngest, who seemed to be missing. As well as linen from the spare bunker.

He found this interesting and so the drummer went snooping around the studio building looking for him.

"Luke? Luke!"

"Hello?"

"Hemmings, I know you're here!"

After not getting a response and not finding him on the second floor where he thought he would be, he went down to the music floor. Maybe he got up early and got a start on the work.

 

He opened the editing room and sound room first, and even as far as checking the bathrooms. Then he pushed his way into the closed off studio room where the magic happened.

"Luke?!"

Well he found the missing band member. And he certainly wasn't working. He was sleeping.

But in the studio? He had a blanket and everything, so if he went to get them from the bunker, wouldn't he have just slept in there?

Shaking his head from the confusion, Ashton let him sleep since he probably had a late night.

 

He walked out and back up to the second level. He really didn't smell that good and his stomach was growling. He hadn't eaten since six last night, come to think of it.

The boys wouldn't be up yet and they'd probably appreciate a hot drink. So he grabbed his car keys and phone, as well as his wallet, and headed outside to the parking lot.

 

Ashton drove to Calum's house first since he lived nearby. He unlocked the front door with his copy he was given and helped himself to the shower. He borrowed his deodorant and a pair of clothes from his wardrobe, then combed his curls and left his house.

 

The studio was fifteen minutes away from his house and he waited until he was nearby until he stopped at a cafe.

He got out of his car and went inside the nice looking shop. There were some pastries and desserts on display too, which looked tempting.  
After contemplating his choices, Ashton settled on getting the four of them their coffees, and a box of croissants. 

Once handed his order, Ashton nearly moaned from the smell. He hurried back to his car and drove the last block to the studio. He then parked his car and walked inside the building.

"Ashton! There you are!"

"You brought me coffee?" 

"And croissants?! Bro, I love you!"

Ah yes. It seems the boys were indeed finally awake.

He held out Michael's coffee for him and offered him a croissant from the box. 

"Yes, I knew you'd be hungry. And Calum, here's yours." He held out the other for the tan boy.

"Thanks, Ash," Calum sipped his coffee and sighed appreciatively.

Ashton held the last coffee in his hand and remaining pastries. "Where's Luke? Isn't he up yet?"

Michael opened his mouth to speak but Calum beat him to it. "I dunno, probably still-"

He paused. Then weirdly enough, Calum leaned in close to Ashton and sniffed him. Actually sniffed him. Like a dog.

"Um, you okay there wolfboy?"

Calum looked up at him and narrowed his eyes. "Are you wearing my deodorant?" He asked suspiciously.

Ohh, now he gets its. He grinned.

"Yep. And used your shower. And comb. And clothes. Can you tell?" He did a little spin and posed for him.

Michael started laughing.

Calum fixed him with a deadpan look. "So you broke into my house?"

"It's not breaking in if you have the key, Calum," he smirked at him.

Calum rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I need to stop by there later today anyway."

Michael looked up quickly. "Oh! I'm coming with you!"

"Why? So you can use my shower too?"

Michael grinned shamelessly. "How'd you know?"

 

The three of them congregated in the staff room and Ashton put down the food and drinks. He gulped the last of his now luke warm coffee and threw the foam cup into the bin.

Michael and Calum finished theirs and Ashton wondered if Luke was up yet or still sleeping on the couch. His coffee will go cold.

He turned to them. "Is Luke awake yet? We have rehearsals later and he should eat."

 

Calum shrugged but his forehead creased in a tiny frown. Michael was the one to answer him.

"He's sleeping on the couch in the studio room."

Calum stared at Michael. "He what?!"

Michael shrunk a little under his stare. "He's um, sleeping-"

"Why?" He demanded.

"I don't know! Why would I know?!"

Calum huffed. "That idiot. Never takes care of himself that kid."

He sighed. "C'mon, lets go get him."

Ashton and Michael followed behind Calum as they went downstairs to the studio.

 

Calum pushed open the studio door with the two others close behind him.

They walked into the room and Calum shook his head at the sight. While he was glad he at least had a pillow and blanket, it means he didn't even leave the room. And he knows the sleep most likely wasn't on purpose, but from sheer exhaustion.

Calum stood beside the couch and noticed Luke with his head up and looking around confusedly. He must have just woken up.

And yep, Luke had just woken up, and he saw he had fallen asleep in the studio. Calum would be mad. His head hurt but then he saw he was covered in a blanket? Who gave him a blanket?

A cough sounded right beside him and Luke jumped, whipping his head to side, startled.

"Calum?" He croaked.

Then he saw Ashton and Michael behind him. Now he felt like the whole band was here to get him in trouble.

Calum raised an eyebrow at him. "When did you go to sleep, Luke?"

Wow he wasted no time with questions. Luke stammered. When did he go to sleep? "Um, I don't know..."

Calum clenched his jaw. "You promised me you would go to sleep, Luke. And I don't mean pass out from overworking yourself."

Luke looked down guiltily.

Calum sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Roughly how much longer after I left did you stay up, do you know?"

Luke tried to think through his muddled mind. He didn't remember ever falling asleep. "Maybe a few hours? Three or four? I don't know."

Calum closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "Luke..." he murmured sadly.

Luke just awkwardly looked down, avoiding him.

Calum thought back. He went to bed around four in the morning, and it's eleven now.  
If Luke stayed up three or four hours more, that means he's running on three, maybe four, hours sleep. And that's with constant work from eight yesterday morning. 

Calum was worried for him. They had rehearsals today, album work again tomorrow, and then a show the next day. How was he supposed to juggle all that and sleep when he doesn't allow himself to?

Luke fiddled with the edging of the blanket. "So um, who gave me the blanket and pillow?"

Michael rose his hand from behind Calum.

"I did. Found you trying to break your back by sleeping in a really weird position. And I didn't want to wake you, so yeah."

"Oh. Okay, thankyou."

Michael shrugged. "You're welcome."

Ashton finally spoke up. "Luke, I got you some coffee and croissants if you want, although it might be cold now."

Luke looked at him and smiled. "Really? Thanks, Ash."

He made a move to get up when a hand on his chest pushed him back down.

"Nope. Say sorry, then you can have coffee."

Luke glanced up at Calum's face. "What?"

"You heard me. Say sorry. You promised me, Lukey."

Luke sighed. He closed his eyes then opened them again. "I'm sorry, Calum." He didn't add that it wouldn't happen again though, because he couldn't promise him that.

But Calum seemed satisfied and held out his hand for Luke. "Come on! Get up!"

Luke laughed and grabbed his hand, allowing himself to be pulled up. He tumbled a little but managed to catch himself. 

"Whoo! Bout time, buddy!" Michael grinned and slapped his back.

His head rang from it but he ignored it.

And Ashton lead the the four of them back up to the second level. And he even had rehearsals to look forward too. Great.


	4. Chapter 4

Within the next hour, all four of the boys had gathered at Calum's house.

It was a nice, medium-sized house with modern features. Calum lived there on his own, with Ashton sometimes staying over for a couple weeks at a time. They each had their own places, all relatively close to each other and the studio. Los Angeles was their main state base, and where they spent most of their time in America.

But Calum's just happened to be the closest, which he frequently regretted. Maybe because this is what always ended up happening.

"Calum! You're out of chips! Don't you ever go shopping?" 

Yup. There goes Michael with raiding his food again. The amount of times he has to restock his whole kitchen... Calum shook his head.

"How can I if you eat them faster than I can restock them?"

Michael groaned. Now he has to eat something else. He closed the snack cupboard and started to snoop through the others, humming as he drank out of the juice carton that was in his fridge.

"Oh and don't drink the juice in the fridge! I'm saving it for something," Calum called out.

Michael froze. He held the carton out and looked at the half empty drink. Oops.

"Um.."

Calum paused and abandoned the laundry he was doing to walk to the kitchen. He gaped at the sight.

"Michael! I just told you not to!"

Michael looked at him helplessly. "You told me after I already drank it!" He defended. "You always tell me not to do something after I've already done it," he mumbled. 

Calum gave up and threw his hands out. "Whatever. But you're coming shopping with me later." He looked at the dyed boy pointedly.

Michael grinned and guzzled the rest of the juice while staring him directly in his eyes. He choked on a laugh and pulled the carton away, wiping his mouth. "It'd be my pleasure, babe."

Calum looked at him flatly. "I hate you, Michael." Then left to go back to washing their dirty clothes they decided to dump on him.

"Love you too!" Michael shouted after him.

 

Ashton had already showered and so he played around on his phone on Calum's lounge. They had some time to spare before they had to be back at the studio. The four would most likely chill at Calum's until then.

Calum passed by him. "Is Luke still in the shower?" He asked.

Ashton shrugged. "I think so. Have a look."

Calum left and walked down the hall to the bathroom. He frowned when he saw it empty.  
He wasn't here?

He decided to check his bedroom. As he swung open the door, the sound of running water met his ears.  
Of course. The boys loved to use his personal shower instead of the guest's. Something about water pressure and better heating? He didn't know why.

Nonetheless, the kiwi walked to his en suite and rapped his knuckles on the door.

"Luke? You fallen asleep in there?" He joked. 

Luke jumped from the scare. He opened his eyes and lifted his head from the tiled shower wall, almost slipping on the wet floor. 

"Wha- oh, um yeah."  
"I mean no! No, I'm fine."

Calum smiled uncertainly. "Um, okay..."

Luke sighed and turned his face towards the ceiling and closing his eyes once again. He let the water run down his back and trickle down his face, wet strands falling over his eyes.

Calum twisted the handle and pushed the door open. He raised an eyebrow at the overly wet floor. "Did a tsunami hit or something?"

Luke scoffed from behind the frosted glass. "No."

Calum ignored him and gathered his dirty clothes from the the wet floor. He saw a damp towel and he picked it up hesitantly with his thumb and index finger. It was probably Ashton's. Boy, they really were lazy.

Calum picked up bottles of products, some not even his, off the floor and put them away.

Luke listened to his friend move around in the bathroom and he sighed. He should get out, he's been in here a while already. He grabbed Calum's shampoo and hurriedly washed his hair.

He rinsed himself off and turned off the running water. Hopefully everyone else already had their showers, he doubted there would be much hot water left.

He stood there in the wet shower and shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. "Calum, you still there?"

Calum heard him from his bedroom and he walked into the bathroom again. "Yeah?"

"Can you get me my towel?"

Calum grabbed a clean towel from the basket and held it out in front of the glass shower door. "Here."

Luke slid the glass back and grabbed it, wrapping it around his waist and stepping out onto the squishy bath mat. "Thanks."

Calum tried not to look at his torso too much, and removed his gaze elsewhere. He could almost be positive it was slightly thinner. He dismissed the thought though. Luke wasn't a little kid, he would take care of himself.

Luke followed Calum out and headed to his walk in robe. He picked out a light cotton shirt and a pair of his skinny jeans, also stealing a pair of his socks and underwear. Not like they don't already wear each other's clothes.

He dropped the towel and dressed in the clothes. Then he headed back to the bathroom mirror and fixed his damp hair. He blow dried it and combed it up into his quiff, spraying a bit of hairspray to keep it in place for the day.

Satisfied and awake, he felt better than before. So he headed out to the lounge room where the boys were.

He plopped down next to Ashton and waved at Michael sitting on Calum's kitchen bench top.

He was smiling smugly at Calum. Luke laughed at them. He pulled out his phone and messed around on his apps, sending out a tweet and snap.

Luke turned to Ashton. "What time do we have to be back?" He asked him.

Ashton glanced at the blond and checked his phone. "Um... rehearsals start at two so we should probably leave now if we want to get lunch before then."

Michael hopped down from the counter and came to sit on Ashton's lap, stretching his legs across Luke's thighs. "Awesome! Let's get Panda Express!"

Luke groaned. "No, Michael. We had that yesterday. And the day before that."

Ashton chuckled and Michael pouted his lips at  
him. "Fine. Calum?"

Calum looked up from his phone, laying with his feet overhanging the arm rest. "Nando's."

Ashton looked relieved and stood up quickly, toppling Michael onto the floor. "Well, would you look at that. Nando's it is." He's had way too much Chinese food this week.  
He grabbed Luke's hand and stepped over Michael's complaining body. "Come on."

Calum stuck his tongue out at him and hurried after them.

 

The band pulled up outside the nearest Nando's and they spilled out of Ashton's car in a graceful display. 

They followed Ashton who lead them in to a quiet corner. Michael slid into the booth first with Luke behind him, and Calum sat down opposite Michael.

Ashton stood at the end of the table. "Do you just want your usuals?" He asked them.

"Yep," Calum nodded, and Luke and Michael agreed. 

"Alright."

Ashton left them and went to place their order. The three began looking around and making weird faces at each other as they waited for Ashton. Michael laughed at Luke's and did one back at him. Calum quickly snapped a picture of the two. He grinned and typed out 'Look at these idiots' then posted it on instagram.

Ashton slid next to him and he put away his phone. They chatted together as they waited for their food to come.

Ten minutes later Michael straightened and gasped. "Yes! I think ours is coming." He watched eagerly as the person made their way to them, setting down the dish he ordered and the side of Luke's fries.

Michael moaned. "I love this place." He tucked into his food right away, and Luke ate a few of his fries, offering a few to the others.

The rest of the boys' dishes came soon too and they all started eating. Michael practically inhaled his.

Calum and Ashton both ate all theirs. Luke ate most of his burger and picked at the remaining fries. He held out his plate to Michael. "Want the rest?" 

Michael looked at him funnily. "You aren't hungry?"

Luke shook his head. "I ate at Calum's." Lie.

Michael seemed to buy it though and he shrugged, taking the plate and munching the rest of Luke's burger. His loss.

Luke sighed. He looked at the others empty plates. "Ready to go now?"

Ashton and Calum nodded. Michael made some weird noise with his mouth stuffed with food, and they took that as a yes. They tumbled out of the booth.

Ashton paid beforehand, so Calum pulled out some cash and left a tip as the four left the eating place.

Now showered and fed, they headed back to the familiar studio, ready for rehearsals.


	5. Chapter 5

"Don't say a word at all, don't say a word at all,

We don't gotta say anything, don't gotta say anything,

Don't say a word at all, don't say a word at all..."

Luke sang the last line and stepped back from the microphone, strumming the rest of the song on his guitar.

The boys played along with him and they finished together on the same beat.

As the last notes faded, Luke let out a deep breath and panted slightly from all the singing. Sweat dripped down the sides of his face and he wiped it away with back of his hand.

Their manager stood up out of his seat and clapped his hands, the sound team also smiling.

"That was amazing! You boys have done wonderful!" 

Luke let out a relieved smile. His heart was still beating irregularly and his breathing was shaky.  
But he had done good. The team liked what they had come up with so far and his late nights were justified.

Calum was beaming and Michael was doing a weird happy dance on the spot. "Yeah, baby!"

Ashton grinned and leaned back from the stool. His chest heaved from all the energy he put into his music. The song wasn't too rocky, but with the other ones they had also practiced before it, his arms were aching.

Derek continued. "So we have six songs already completed and locked away, those will be in the album. And the four you finished recently, which you just played."

The boys all nodded.

"These are really good and we'll have the team discuss them and get you to record them. The album should be completed by October. So you still have a few months to come up with more," Derek smiled at them again, proud of what they'd done.

"Go have a break boys, you earned it. Be back in half an hour though, there's still some things we have to go through."

Michael let out a dramatic groan. "Yes! I'm so thirsty."

Ashton laughed at him. He got out from behind the drums and ran at Michael, wrapping him tightly in a sweaty hug.

Michael yelped. "Ew! Oh my goodness, Ashton! You're so sweaty!" He desperately tried to get out his arms but Ashton laughed even more and held him tighter.

"Love me, Michael!"

Michael faked a gag. "No, get off me."

Ashton pouted at him and reluctantly let go of him. "Traitor," he grumbled.

Michael ran off stage, ripping off his shirt and using it to fan himself. They really should invest in some fans.

Ashton was still pouting and he turned to Luke and Calum. Luke was holding onto the mic, appearing to lean against it. And Calum was distracted with removing his guitar strap.

Ashton brightened as he locked eyes with Luke's blue ones. Luke cringed. Oh no. "Luke! You'll always hug me, right?" He said cheerily. He stepped closer to him.

Luke internally groaned. "No one wants to hug you, Ashton. You're sweatier than a pig."

Ashton ignored the insult and ran to him, scooping Luke up and throwing him over his shoulder like he's done at concerts before. Ashton giggled and speed walked off the stage carrying him.

Luke's breath hitched quietly and he squeezed his eyes shut. His stomach heaved at being thrown over his shoulder but he ignored it since he didn't want to worry Ashton.

"Ashton! Put me down!"

Ashton laughed, but complied anyway. He came to a stop and leaned forward to set Luke's feet on the ground. The blond swayed dangerously. His vision was blurry and his brain felt muddled.

Thinking Luke was just dizzy from being carried around, he put his hands on his waist and steadied him. He eyed him concern. "You okay, Luke?"

Luke managed a nod and he opened his eyes, forcing a smile. He chuckled quietly at him. "I'm fine, Ash." Then he scrunched his nose up. "But your smell isn't."

Ashton rolled his eyes and removed his hands. "Whatever. I'm heading to the rec room if you guys wanted to come," he said, also looking at Calum.

Calum nodded at him. "Yeah, I'll go get Michael." Calum hurried off to go find him and Ashton turned to leave the stage room. "You coming?" He asked Luke.

Luke looked up at him. "Yeah. I need to go to the bathroom so I'll meet you there in a minute."

Ashton nodded. "Okay." And he left the room.

 

Luke took a moment to compose himself and then also walked outside. But he headed to the staff room instead.

Once there, he checked if it was empty and then opened the emergency medicine cabinet. Hardly anyone ever used it. Taking out the small box, he opened the lid and pulled out what he was looking for.

He slipped two white aspirins onto his tongue and washed it down with a glass of water. Realizing he forgot about remembering to drink at all today, he quickly refilled it and downed that too.

His headaches should ease by the time he has to sing again. Once he placed the kit back into its spot, Luke closed the cupboard and left the room.  
See? He could be responsible.

 

Michael and Ashton were both on their phones when he joined them. Ashton was on one couch by himself and Calum and Michael were on the other. They only had half an hour so they didn't play a game on the PlayStation like they usually would.

Luke walked in and sat down next Ashton.  
Calum's eyes stayed on Michael's phone. He leaned closer and propped his chin on his shoulder, whispering something to him. Michael burst out laughing.

Calum grinned. "Do it," he urged.

They laughed quietly together and Luke decided to close his eyes to try and rest.

Calum leaned over and began tapping on Michael's phone. The two waited a moment and as expected, Ashton's phone began ringing in his hand.

He looked up at the two. "Why are you face timing me?"

Michael laughed and pointed at Calum. "He told me to."

Calum smirked and stuck his tongue out. "Aren't you gonna answer, Ashton?"

Ashton glanced at his phone again and shrugged. He pressed the 'accept' button and Michael and Calum's face popped up on the screen.

"Hi, Ashton!" They greeted. The echo sounded from his phone. 

He looked at the screen and grinned. "Hi, guys."

The two giggled together on the other couch where they were both peering at Ashton's face time. They began asking stupid questions back and forth like, what are you doing? Where are you right now? Want to hangout?

Idiots, Luke thought. Who the hell facetimes when in the same room?

 

This continued for some time as Luke tried to block them out. His body was weary.

As the boys joked between them, Derek's assistant popped her head in. "Hey, Derek is ready when you are," she informed them.

Michael nodded at her and moved to get up, Calum falling face first into the couch. "Alright, thanks. Tell him we'll be there in a minute."

She smiled and left, leaving the boys alone again.

He turned off his phone and stretched his limbs.  
Calum huffed and removed his face from the sticky leather couch. He also got up and stretched.

But the drummer stayed sitting. "Um, guys?"

They looked at him. "What?"

He gestured his hands at Luke in an obvious motion. The boy was asleep. 

His long legs were curled under him and his arms were cradled into his chest. Damn him for looking so adorable when sleeping. Now it would be harder to wake him.

Michael breathed a small, "Oh."

Calum looked at him helplessly. Luke had fallen asleep. He knew this would happen. The guy was running on three hours sleep and had been rehearsing a lot today. Now he has to wake him up.

"Do you think we could ask Derek to postpone an hour, or something?" He asked the other two.

He saw Ashton hesitate. "It's just, we have a lot to finish today. The show's tomorrow, you know."

Calum's shoulders drooped.

Ashton scratched the back of his neck. "I mean, we could, but that just means a later night."

Calum sighed. He supposed it was better to wake him now than get him to have an even later night than planned.

He reached out and shook Luke's shoulder. "Luke. Hey, wake up."

Getting no response, he shook him harder. He felt terrible doing this. "Luke!"

Luke shot up and Calum stumbled back from the sudden movement.

"Huh? Wha-?"

Calum moved in front of him again. "Hey, we gotta get back to rehearsing. Are you alright?"

Luke blinked sleepily and yawned. "Oh... yeah, sure. I'm fine."

Calum stayed quiet but held out a hand and pulled him up easily.

Ashton put a hand on his shoulder in case he stumbled.

Luke pushed away from them though, and walked to the door. "Well? We going or not?" He asked them.

The others shared a look, but then got up and followed him out.


	6. Chapter 6

Seeing as they had practiced the new songs for the album already, Derek had them rehearse for their show tomorrow night.

They would be performing in Denver, a couple of states over. 

He handed them a list. "This is the list of songs you'll be singing. They're ones you've done before so it shouldn't be any problem. But I still want you to practice."

Ashton looked the list over and passed it to Michael. "Sounds great." They knew these songs fairly well.

Calum and Luke peered over his shoulder, scanning the names. It seemed easy enough.

"So when do we start?" Calum asked.

"Right away," Derek replied. "Shouldn't take more than an hour."

The four nodded and they made their way onto the small stage once again. Ashton took his place behind his drum set, and the other three stood behind their respective microphones.

Derek took a seat and then gestured for them to start.

 

Many songs and a toilet break later, the three collapsed into a seat. "No more, please," Michael pleaded.  
Luke chuckled half heartedly. Calum was laying face first on the floor like a star fish.

Derek smiled, amused. "I know it's been rough, the past few weeks especially, but it'll all be worth it. Just a little longer. The album's almost done and you can have a break after the show tomorrow."

Ashton slumped in his seat. "Awesome. So are we done for the night, or...?"

Derek nodded. "Yes. You've done really well today and I appreciate the good sportsmanship. You can go home now if you want. The team's packing up as well."

Ashton whispered a 'yes!' under his breath and stretched. Calum was still being a star fish.

Derek turned to leave but quickly spun back around. "Also, I know you've been working on another song that's almost finished, if you finished that by next week, the album might be able to be released early. You'd have a longer break."

Michael and Ashton contemplated this. They were almost done with it and it did sound like a good idea. "Yeah, we'll consider it, thanks."

Luke sat quietly and mulled over what the manager said. Finish it by next week...

"Night boys, rest up for tomorrow."

The four returned his goodnight and then looked at each other when he left. Only a few others remained and they would be wanting to lock up so they could leave.

Ashton stood and gathered his things. "Okay, well. I'm going now, so I'll see you- Calum! Why are you still on the floor?" He exclaimed.

Calum shrugged weirdly. "Pull me up."

Ashton shook his head and grabbed the tan boy under his arms, holding all his weight and pulling him to his feet.

Calum laughed. "Thanks."

"Whatever, you weirdo."

Michael pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. "It's only nine. Means I can finally get enough sleep." He put it back and picked up his discarded flannel. "I'm outta here."

He turned to Ashton. "Can I get a ride?"

Ashton shrugged at him. Why not? "Sure."

He turned to Luke and Calum and gave them both a brief hug. "Night, guys."

Michael did the same and also hugged them goodnight.  
Luke waved at them and the two walked out of the room to exit the building.

 

Luke's tense shoulders dropped. He went to leave and get his things left in the rec room when Calum stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

Calum bit his lip before blurting out, "Do you want to stay over at mine tonight?"

He waited for answer, unsure.

Luke seemed surprised. He didn't mind staying over of course, they had done it plenty of times before. But he was curious.

"Um, sure. I'll go get my things." 

Calum looked happy about his answer and he said he'd go wait at the car for him. 

Luke watched him go then continued to the rec room. He stuffed his phone into his back pocket and grabbed his sunglasses. Then he left and hurried to the empty studio room.

Seeing his papers from last night, he picked them up off the floor. Knowing Calum wouldn't like seeing him with them, he folded the papers in half and tucked them into the band of his skinny jeans. He pulled his shirt down over them and then quickly left, turning out the lights as he went.  
Calum would be waiting.

 

Calum waited in the cool parking lot. It was a little brisk outside. Deciding to be a smart person and not wait in the cold, he unlocked his car and hopped him. Making sure the heating was on, he closed his door and waited for Luke.

Not long after, he spied the tall boy walk out of the large building doors. He was hunched forward a little and his arms crossed in front of him.

Calum started the car and the lights shone in front of it. Luke opened the car door and shuffled in, pulling it closed behind him. His shivering began to reduce in the heated car.

Calum waited for him to buckle up and then pulled out of parking lot.

The short car ride was silent, both not feeling the need to speak. Luke struggled to keep his eyes open. The heated seats and warm air blasting soothed his cold body, and his eyelids were so tempted to close.

Calum looked over and noticed his state. This was why he offered him to stay the night. He would be in no shape to drive himself home and he didn't trust that he would remember to do basic things.

So in order to keep an eye on him, Calum offered him to stay over.

He sighed and looked back at the road. He sped up.

 

Arriving outside his house, Calum turned off the engine and shook Luke's shoulder. He was sleepy, but still awake. Just.

"Luke, we're here," he whispered.

Luke grumbled and looked around. He recognised his surroundings and unbuckled his seat belt. Calum got out of the drivers side and hurried over to open Luke's door for him.

Luke thanked him and stumbled out. Making sure he locked his car, he held Luke's wrist and lead him to front door.

The boy fumbled in the dark but managed to unlock the front door and turn on the house lights. The cold air woke Luke's senses a bit and he regained his thoughts.

The two boys both took off their shoes and Calum went to his kitchen. "Do you want anything to eat?" He offered. Techniqually none of them had eaten dinner.

Luke shook his head. He didn't feel like eating.  
Not bothered by it, Calum deciding to make him a hot chocolate anyway. 

When they were younger and Luke stayed up late with homework, he would make them a hot Milo. The situation was similar. Only America didn't have Milo, so a hot chocolate would have to suffice.

Luke mumbled something to him and left to go the guest room. 

Once there, Luke sat down on the bed and pulled out the sheets he took. He had almost finished this last night but had fallen asleep. He would finish it tonight instead. It might be more work now, but he could rest on break - it was almost done anyway. He would just do an hour maybe. It wasn't that late.

He put them on the nightstand and took out his phone. Just as he sent a text to his mum, Calum walked in with two mugs of steaming chocolate.

His eyes widened and he subtly moved to block Calum's view of the work sheets.

But Calum didn't appear to notice and he let out his breath. 

"Here, Luke," Calum held out the mug.

Luke was oddly touched. He didn't appreciate Calum enough. He carefully accepted the mug and took a sip of the chocolate drink. "Thankyou," he murmured sincerely.

Calum smiled fondly at him and sat down on the bed next to him. "It's no problem."

They both quietly sat, sipping their hot chocolates.

Calum finally spoke up. "Do you want to watch a movie with me?" He asked.

Luke looked at him surprised. "I thought you would be telling me to sleep, not watch a movie."

Calum laughed lightly. "Yeah, well. It's easier to fall asleep to a movie."

Luke smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

"So? Do you wanna?"

Luke shrugged. It sounded good. "Sure."

Calum grinned. "Yes!" He took Luke's empty cup and placed it on the ground - smart, I know - and jumped up. Then he grabbed Luke by the arm, pulling him into his bedroom.  
He jumped onto his king bed and Luke laughed and did the same. He couldn't help it, Calum could be infectious.

Calum rolled over into his back and reached out to grab his laptop. "Could you turn the lights off?"

Luke pretended to be mad and glared at him, getting up anyway. While up, he decided to change. He pulled off his skinny jeans first, then his shirt. Then he disappeared into Calum's wardrobe to pick out a soft sweater he'd seen him wear, and two pairs off sweatpants.

He walked back out and threw one in Calum's direction. "Here," he said. It hit him in the face.  
He ignored the insults and pulled the sweater over his body, also pulling on the sweatpants.

Then he turned off the lights and crawled back into bed, pulling the comforter over him. 

Calum also removed his jeans and changed into the sweatpants, crawling back in. He opened the laptop and brought up Netflix.  
Luke shuffled closer to see the screen.

"What do you wanna watch?" 

"Cal, you're supposed to pick."

"Why do I have to?"

"Because you invited me."

Calum gave a little huff and clicked on a random movie. He hoped it would be good.

 

The movie did turn out to be good, Luke watched it the whole way through. But Calum wouldn't know since he fell asleep halfway through. Luke didn't mind. This just meant he could finish his song.

Not that he didn't want to spend time with Calum, because he did, but the song was his top priority now.

Luke lifted his head from Calum's shoulder and gently removed Calum's arm from around his waist.  
He slowly crept to the edge of the bed. Calum couldn't wake and find him sneaking off.  
He slipped his feet out and they hit the plush carpet. Then he pulled the comforter off and successfully slipped out.

He grinned.

Sneaking back into the guest room, he closed the door and turned on the beside lamp.  
He checked his phone first. A quarter past eleven. Not bad. If he finished his song in an hour or two, he might even get a decent sleep tonight.

They had to be in Denver by four tomorrow afternoon, and the flight was around two hours. If they had to be at the airport at 12, then he could probably sleep in.

Satisfied, the stubborn blond set to work.

 

Luke had downloaded some of Michael's work onto his phone, some tunes he had been working on for the song. He had taken a copy so he could finish it.

Looking over all the lyrics, he smiled at the work he had gotten done. His eyes were smarting and red, and his hands cramped, but he was happy.

Everything was getting so close to being done. He now had the general layout and theme of the song completed.  
With the most tedious part of the work done, he pulled out his phone and plugged in some earphones.  
He listened to what Michael had come up with, happy when he recognised the part he had helped him with.  
He listened through it twice and after catching the main flow of it, he tweeked the words to it.

Another half hour later, Luke leaned back and cracked his fingers. He let out a deep sigh. His head was literally throbbing now. 

He checked the time again and saw it was only one thirty in the morning. He was doing great. The song was actually completed. Of course, the band would have to learn to play it and sing it, but it was done. They had another song tucked under their belt and Luke felt so proud.

He pulled out a few blank pages he had amongst them, and started re-writing the entire song in a neater, more formatted version.

Once he completed that, he wanted to do more despite his exhaustion. He was on a roll.

He had a great idea for another one, but it involves a lot of Michael's lyrics and he thought Michael might like to put it together.

So he just arranged the ones that would well into a pile so he could go through them easier.

While at it, Luke cleaned up and labeled all the messy papers. He stacked them into a neat pile and placed them inside the bedside drawer. 

He was done. Looking around, Luke stretched his sore muscles and rubbed his bleary eyes. He needed aspirin if he were to get any sleep tonight.

Turning off the lamp, he closed the guest room door and padded to Calum's kitchen. He opened the bottom drawer where he stored the medicine, and pulled out some aspirin. 

He popped a few onto his tongue and washed them down with a mouthful of water from the tap.

Sighing, the stressed out blond was also tempted to take a sleeping pill. But he resisted and closed the drawer. He didn't need it, he had finished his work. He was allowed to sleep now.

Luke tip toed back to Calum's room. He closed the door behind him and crept back into the bed so he wouldn't notice he had left. He closed the laptop that the movie had finished on a while ago and placed it on the bedside table.

Then he snuggled closer to Calum who was warm, and tucked himself against him.  
He closed his eyes and finally let himself sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Just as he told him, Calum did take Michael shopping. But we'll get to that.

When Calum woke up that morning, he was extremely happy to see Luke beside him. That meant he had stayed and actually slept.

Putting a positive spin on his day, he even called the other two boys over for breakfast. No doubt they'd be here as fast as they could. A free breakfast? They'd be crazy to turn it down.

Ten minutes later, he had dressed and made a start on the food. Now, Calum was certainly no chef, but he sure could cook some mean eggs. He tossed some bacon alongside and listened to them hiss and sizzle, pushing them around the pan.

"Bitch, I'm home!"

"Michael, don't swear."

"Oh, don't pretend as if you've never sworn, Ashton."

"Not as much as you."

"Bitch isn't even a swear word."

Seems like his lovely friends have arrived. As expected, a curly head of hair popped round the corner, followed by a spiky haired boy.

"Hi, Calum," Ashton grinned, his dimples showing. He took a seat on one of the bar stools at the kitchen island.

Calum turned from the stove and gave his half smile. "Morning, Ash." 

Michael stomped into the kitchen and hopped onto the bench, swinging his legs. "I heard something about free food?"

Calum laughed. This boy. He turned the flame off and removed the pan from the stove. "Can you get some plates?" He asked Michael.

Michael obliged and jumped down to open the cabinet where they were stored. He pulled out three and then paused. "Wait, is Luke here?" 

Ashton frowned at this. Calum wouldn't exclude him, that would be cruel. Maybe he was preoccupied with something.  
He also turned to Calum, wondering the same thing.

But the boy just nodded at them, not seeming worried about it. "Yeah, he's sleeping. Maybe go wake him up."

So he stayed over. Michael pulled out another plate for him.

Calum moved to the bench in front of Ashton and began serving out the bacon and eggs. He turned back to the stove and quickly grilled some tomatoes in the pan, tossing the last of the mushrooms in as well.

Ashton stood up from the bar stool. "I'll go get him."

Calum nodded at him and Michael just took his place on the bench again, watching the boy cook with an interested look on his face. He was definitely planning to pinch some behind his back.

Calum wasn't too worried with waking Luke up. They'd both went to bed at the same time and he would have gotten a decent amount of sleep.

 

Ashton left the kitchen and walked down to the guest room. He knocked on the door and waited. "Luke?" 

Hearing no response, he opened the door and walked in. It was empty. Other than some mugs sitting on the carpet. Weird.

He shrugged and went next door to Calum's room.  
The door was already half opened and he walked right in.

Found him. The boy was curled up in the middle of the large bed, blankets tucked up close around his chin. Ashton wanted to coo at the sight. How adorable.

He bit his lip and pulled the phone from his pocket. Opening the camera, he snapped a picture of him and then put it back.

"Luke," he whispered.

No reply. Well, can't say he didn't try. 

And Ashton dived onto the bed, right on top of Luke. Luke groaned.

"Lukey!" He giggled. He wrapped his arms around Luke and snuggled his face next to his. "Time to wake up."

The blanket mound moved underneath him. "Get off, Ashton," Luke grumbled.

Ashton giggled again. "Hug me and then I will." He wasn't leaving until he got some Lukey love. He hadn't really had much bonding time with him recently because he was always working.

Luke sighed. He blinked his tired eyes and tried to wake his mind. Licking his chapped lips, he gave in and squirmed underneath the heavy body laying on him.

"Fine."

Luke wiggled around and managed to pull his trapped arms free from the blanket. He opened them and turned onto his back. "Come here."

Ashton grinned and hugged Luke, small arms wrapping around his back. He tucked his face into his neck, enjoying it.

Luke was feeling better than the past few days. His hands were still store and he had a dull throbbing in the back of his head, but he could ignore it. He was otherwise feeling fine.

His lips tipped up into a small smile and he hugged Ashton tighter - despite being squished. It had been a while since he properly spent time with the drummer.

Ashton finally retracted his arms from Luke and pulled back, feeling satisfied. He hopped off the bed and stood up. 

"Chop chop, Luke! You have to get up, Calum made breakfast."

Luke puffed out his cheeks then released it. "Okay, I'm coming." 

He pulled back the comforter and crawled to the edge of the edge. He swung his feet onto the floor and stood, rubbing is eyes.

Ashton patiently waited for him and then lead the younger boy to the others.

 

Calum and Michael both looked up when they walked in.

"Hey, Luke." Michael threw up a peace sign. Calum smiled.

Luke gave a small wave and took a seat at the island. "Mornin'."  
Ashton sat beside him.

Calum popped a few tomatoes and mushrooms on the plates, then slid one each in front of Luke and Ashton. Michael already had his and was eating all the eggs first.

Luke thanked Calum and grabbed a fork, taking a bite of the eggs. It was good. Better than any of the other's attempts.

Calum took the last stool beside Ashton and the band started eating.

 

Calum's shopping trip with Michael really was difficult. He was like a kitten gone high, tossing random items into the basket and disappearing down different aisles. He couldn't keep up with him.

"Michael! Stop running off."

Michael's light hair vanished around the corner. 

Calum huffed and stood in the middle of the aisle. He was in the cereal section, so he grabbed a box of cocoa pops and fruit loops. Luke liked the cocoa pops and Michael liked fruit loops since they were the closest to cheerios. Him and Ashton preferred toast or eggs usually.

Michael appeared beside him again and he dropped some gummy worms and snickers into the basket.

"Micheal, stop getting so much junk food."

He shrugged unapologetically. Food is food.  
He began leaving the aisle and this time Calum stuck to him like glue, not wanting to keep losing the hyperactive boy.

They reached the chips section and Michael grabbed a packet. Calum followed him around, placing a bottle of milk in, some bread, juice and basic fruit. He needed something healthy.

When they finally reached the checkouts, Michael thankfully helped him place the items on the counter. The cashier placed them into paper bags and rang up the total.

Calum paid for the groceries, even though half were Michael's snacks, and they grabbed some bags each.

 

Arriving back home, they carried them in and placed them on the bench.

Luke was sitting on the couch with Ashton, both on their phones. But he turned around to watch the pair put the items away. He swung his arms over the back of the lounge lazily. 

He looked back at Ashton. "What's the time?" 

Ashton looked at the top of his screen. "Um... 10:58."

Luke chewed on his lip ring. Weren't they supposed to be at the airport at twelve? It would take twenty minutes to get there, but they also had to pack a bag and find a park.

"I haven't packed a bag yet," he told Ashton.

Ashton gave his attention to the younger boy. "Oh. I don't think Michael has either."

He twisted around to face the kitchen. "Hey, Michael, you haven't packed a bag for Denver yet, have you?"

Michael shook his head. Between sleeping and rushing for Calum's homemade breakfast, he had forgotten to pack a bag.

"No. But I can just drive by later and pack one on the way to the airport. I'll leave early."

That sounded reasonable. Luke came up with an idea. "Michael, could I catch a ride with you then? I need to stop by mine as well."

Michael nodded. "Yeah. We'll just have to leave a little spare time."

"Okay." Luke had no problem with that. Seeing as it was almost eleven anyways, he suggested they leave now.

Michael agreed. He popped a few more chips in his mouth then grabbed the bag and sour worms.  
He wiped his hands on his jeans.

"Alright. Well, we'll see you guys at the airport in an hour."

Michael waved and grabbed Ashton's car keys since he drove them there. 

"Don't crash my car, Clifford," Ashton warned.

Micheal rolled his eyes. "Glad to see I'm your priority if I crash." He made his way outside to the car and Luke said goodbye to them.

He ducked into the guest room to grab his phone and sunnies, and also opened the drawer where he stored the music papers.

He wanted to show them to Derek. Plus he might be able to get some more work done on the flight.  
He pulled them out then hurried outside.

Both getting into Ashton's car, Michael started the engine and pulled out of the driveway.

Once on the road, Michael raised an eybrow at the papers in Luke's hand. "Those from the studio?"

Luke nodded, feeling a little proud. "I finished the song last night."

But Michael just frowned slightly. "You were working last night? But Calum told me you slept over, he wouldn't let you keep working on a free night."

Luke realised his mistake and he fidgeted his hands. He stammered for an answer. "Well, I-"

Michael sighed. "Luke, did you actually get any sleep last night?"

"Yes!" He insisted. He did stay up a few extra hours, but he did get a longer sleep. Six hours maybe. That was more than before.

Michael looked doubtful. Luke turned his body toward him and pleaded with his eyes. "Honest, Michael. I slept a lot longer last night. I'm feeling fine."

Michael studied the blond. "Alright, fine. I believe you." Luke brightened. "But Calum might not." His face dropped.

He couldn't let Calum know. He would be really disappointed in him. "Please, Mikey, you cant tell him."

"Luke-"

"I'll tell him myself, tomorrow."

Michael internally groaned. Damn Luke with his eyes. He always could persuade him to do anything. He reluctantly agreed.


	8. Chapter 8

Michael didn't know how to feel with having to keep Luke's recreational activities a secret. 

He knew he shouldn't have agreed, this was Luke, after all. But running to tell Calum and Ashton every time he was being stubborn felt childish. So as promised, Michael didn't tell.

He wasn't aware what the others did on the two hour flight to Denver, whether Luke worked or slept. But the tattoed boy ended up drifting to sleep watching a crappy movie on the small screens.

 

Ashton yawned and stretched his limbs out, whacking a passed out Michael in the face and kicking the back of Calum's chair.

Calum turned around with an unhappy look on his face. "Stop kicking my chair, Ashton."

Ashton laughed. "It was an accident! I swear. Besides, we're about to land anyway."

Calum's face instantly changed.

"Really? Finally! My legs are so cramped."

Ashton rolled his eyes at him and listened as the speakers came on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the plane is about to land. Please return to your assigned seats if you aren't already. If all devices could be switched off and trays folded up, that would be great. Thankyou."

Ash grinned and eagerly turned towards his fellow passenger.   
He began poking his face.

"Michael."

Poke.

"Hey, Michael."

Poke.

"Mikey!"

Extra hard poke.

A grumble escaped the sleeping boy and hands batted at Ashton's.

Ashton poked his cheek again.

"Stop it," Michael mumbled.

Ashton jutted his bottom lip out. "We're about to land, mate. C'mon, wake up."

When no response came, Ashton spoke up again. "I'll keep poking you."

Poke.

"Alright, alright! I'm awake. Stop poking me," Michael huffed and sat up properly, rubbing his tired eyes. He glared at Ashton.

Ashton only grinned happily at him. How he was always so chipper, Michael will never know.

Feeling the drop in altitude, Luke scrunched his face up uncomfortably. As the plane descended, he felt an extremely painful feeling pound in the back of his head.

He clenched his jaw tightly and bit his lip harshly. Normally the feeling was only mild and could be dealt with a painkiller on regular flights. This time it felt worse. Maybe it was because he wasn't in best health.

He leaned forward to rest his forehead against the seat in front and closed his eyes, breathing slowly.

Calum looked over and immediately noticed his distress. He put a hand on his shoulder.

"Luke? Hey, what's wrong?"

Luke didn't answer him, sharp pains shooting through his ears and head. 

"Luke?"

Calum panicked. "Is it the pain? Is it worse? You need to tell me, Luke."

"I-", Luke paused and took a breath. He tried to ignore the altitude pressure. "No, I'm fine," he managed.

Calum felt the anger begin to bubble up. "No, you're not. Stop lying to me, Luke. Is it worse?"  
He watched the younger boy's features closely.

Luke sighed shakily and clenched his fists. The pain was bad but he didn't want Calum to do something drastic when he would be fine once they land. He could work through it.

He opened his eyes to look into Calum's dark ones. Luke could see the worry swirling in them. "Only a little," he said quietly. It wasn't totally a lie.

Calum rubbed his shoulder soothingly. He reached into his overhead bag and pulled out the small bottle of painkillers. He tipped a few into his hand and grabbed a spare water bottle, holding it out to Luke.

"Here, they should work pretty fast."

Luke gratefully took them. He was glad Calum didn't ask for help from the air hostess or something.

Shoving them into his mouth, he tipped his head back and washed it down with a mouthful of water. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Thanks," he told him. He truly hoped Calum was right.

Calum just gave him a small smile, concern still edging his eyes.

Luke lied back for the rest of the descent and tried to ignore the insistent pain shooting through his head. It felt like it was caving from pressure. 

His throat tightened and he felt his eyes sting. Really, Luke? You're going to cry about this? He admonished himself and forced the whimper down, clenching his jaw.

After a long, painful while, a small jolt indicated they had landed on the airstrip.

They heard a loud "Yes!" from Ashton. Someone was eager to be back on ground.

Going through the usual steps and waiting, Luke opened his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. He never understood how the others weren't affected by altitude pressure. Even now his head still throbbed.

Standing up, the boys all shuffled out of their seats and pulled down their bags from the overhead storage compartments.

And if Michael was accidentally hit in the head with Ashton's bag and then later tripped down the aisle, no one had to know.


	9. Chapter 9

Ashton watched as the shops and cars sped by in a blur. It seemed as though the van was driving awfully slow. Or maybe that was just because they had been travelling a lot today, the jet lag and general rush catching up to him.

He sighed and removed his gaze from the window, turning back to the phone in his hand. He opened up a useless game he downloaded for times like these and began playing it, trying to pass the time.

Still, only a few minutes passed before the curly headed boy groaned and closed his eyes. Why did boredom exist?

He heard some rustling and opened them again, turning to the person sitting beside him.

Ashton observed the frustrated look on Luke's face and reached out to tug his hands from ripping his own hair out. 

"What are you doing, Luke?" He asked a little confused.

Luke just huffed and didn't answer him, pulling his hands from Ashton's. He rubbed the back of his neck in an irritated gesture.

"Nothing, I-," 

The young boy stopped, taking a breath and lowering his voice. 

"It's nothing," he said softly. "Just a little stressed, I guessed."

Ashton frowned and tried to catch his eyes, but the blond avoided him. He bit his lip. "About the show?"

Luke opened his mouth as if to say something else but then closed it. He nodded. 

Understanding dawned on Ashton and he smiled at Luke. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, you'll do great, Luke."

Luke looked at his lap and twined his fingers together, only returning a small smile back at him. He didn't notice the way Luke's eyes were slightly bloodshot and his face paler than usual. 

Ashton gave him an encouraging smile and wrapped an arm around the younger boy's shoulders, ruffling his blond hair. 

A tiny laugh escaped him and Ashton grinned victoriously. "Aha! There's that Lukey laugh," he teased, tugging him closer.

Luke rolled his eyes and shook his head at him, but his lips betrayed him in a tiny smile.

Ashton looked satisfied at this and leaned back against the relatively soft seats, keeping his arm around Luke. They still had around 20 minutes left before reaching the centre. He closed his eyes.

"Just try and sleep or something, Luke. Might help with the nerves," he suggested.

He didn't hear anything in reply and mentally shrugged. It was only a suggestion anyway. He decided to try and get in a short nap.

 

After a few moments of silence, Luke turned his face to Ashton's and noticed how the boy was already asleep. He was both mildly impressed and envious of his ability. Luke always struggled with such things. Especially recently.

He looked away from the older drummer and sighed, slumping in his seat. 

Peering over the back of his seat at the other two, he spied Michael passed out with his face against the window. He held back a smirk at this. Elegant as always, Michael.

Looking to Calum next, he saw the boy was awake and on his phone. He immediately turned around and ducked. His heart sped.

His woozy mind took a second to catch up with the fast action and he wondered if Calum saw him. He hoped not.

He wasn't trying to hide from Calum, he was his best friend after all. But it's just that the boy was too perceptive and he didn't want him on his back at the moment. He wanted to avoid a confrontation if possible.

When his breathing evened out, Luke stumbled back up in his seat, Ashton's arm still around him. He briefly wondered if Calum had heard their conversation.

He was physically okay, a little tired and slow, but nothing major. A little moody maybe but nothing of worry.

Luke pulled out his phone and checked the time. Only around 10 minutes left before they arrived.

He would love to take a nap as Ashton suggested, but he was too stressed and irritated. He couldn't rest when they were supposed to be doing a show today. It was too important to waste time for such minor things.

Still, his body betrayed him and he licked his dry lips, closing his heavy eyelids. He would just close his eyes. That's all he would do. 10 minutes.

But his weak body slowly gave out and he leaned into Ashton's side. He rested his head slightly on the older boy's shoulder, unable to hold it up much longer, the van's movements lulling him.

The empty nothingness came quick for Luke, the unconsciousness taking over his body almost immediately. His whole body weight was soon being supported by Ashton, unaware of his surroundings.

So he didn't notice when Ashton woke up from him passing out against him.

He didn't notice when the boy frowned, suspicion and worry lingering on his face.

And he didn't notice when he finally just sighed and moved so Luke could rest against his chest more comfortably.

Because his mind was gone, desperately clawing for a chance to stop. 

And his body was tired, aching for a break.

Sick of being denied.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Shoutout to Mukelover09 *  
> Thankyou for supporting my stories xx

Luke's world was pure black. No sound, no feeling, and no sight. And he was floating blissfully in it. He never wanted it to end.

And then, a poke.

The feeling was barely registered though, so deep was he in the empty darkness.

But whatever it was, it was insistant. He felt another poke. 

He ignored it.

A muffled sound reached his ears and Luke tried to get away from it. He didn't want to leave.

The warbled sounds came louder however and it was like he could almost feel the vibrations in his chest.

A brush against his arm and he shivered.

"Luke..." a quiet whisper.

But he was dreaming. Surely he was.

"Luke..." it came, clearer than before.

Stop, he grumbled. He doubted it was audible.

"Hey. Luke. You need to get up."

He ignored this too.

"Luke!"

A hard poke came to his sensitive side and Luke jerked awake, gasping.

He looked around him and took in his surroundings, heart speeding.

"Um, Luke?"

His eyes quickly flicked down. Ashton. He was lying on Ashton's chest. Goodness, he was practically curled into him like a turtle. 

"Hello? Dude, stop staring at me."

Luke blinked. "Oh, right. Sorry." He frowned slightly to himself at his rough voice, awkwardly letting go of his tight grip on Ashton's sweater. He pushed away and into his own seat.

Ashton shifted into a better position and looked at him weirdly. 

"Your brain awake now?"

Luke scoffed weakly. "Shutup, Ashton."

Ashton laughed. He ran his hands through his messy curls and checked his phone again.

"Alright, well. Just thought I should wake you because we're almost outside the centre now."

Luke peered outside the window and rubbed his sore eyes. He noticed the van was indeed about to park.

"Thanks," he mumbled to Ashton.

Ashton gave him a cheesy smile. "No problem, Luke."

 

"Hey, Melissa! How much longer do we need to rehearse this for?"

The young assistant spun around at the voice and quickly checked her watch on her wrist. She looked up at the tall boy.

"We should be done, we just need to go through the sound check once more."

Michael let out an exaggerated breath of relief. No way could he stand to practice for another minute. He whipped of his SnapBack and paused.

"Wait, what's the time on your watch say?" He asked her.

"Um," she looked down. "Its almost 5:30."

Michael shrugged and nodded. Half an hour until show time. They were running a bit behind today to be so close to the opening.

He wiped his sweaty forehead and left the staff room, heading back to the stage where the boys were left.

Entering the arena, he swiped a water bottle off of a small desk and jumped back up onto the stage. He opened it and guzzled half.

"She said we just got sound check. It's half an hour until opening time so we're cutting it close," he informed the lazing boys.

Calum nodded to him and laid back on the ground. Ashton grinned and gave two thumbs up. What a dork. Who still gives thumbs up anymore?

Fastening the cap on the bottle, he set it down and walked over to Luke, taking a seat on the stage beside him. He leaned back against the speakers and turned his face to look at him.

"Think you got enough energy in you for the concert?" He joked.

Luke removed his face from between his knees and looked up at Michael. He pulled his legs close to his chest and hugged them, but he didn't answer straight away.

Michael's smile wavered.

"Luke? Everything okay?"

Luke looked down and frowned. He wasn't sure he was.

I don't know, he almost said. But he quickly forced the words down. Mikey couldn't help him.

With the short rehearsment they had done, Luke had begun to realise that he may not be fine. He had noticed the difference in the way he felt while performing, and he could start to see how this wasn't necessarily good.

But the show was literally within the hour and there's no way he could stop that now. He had to go through.

He wanted to tell Michael, though. He wanted him to help. Because he was almost worried. And that scared him more than if he was sick.

The small blond groaned. He had dug himself a hole with this.

Not to mention he had fallen asleep in the van. Sure, it might have just been 10 minutes. But still.

Michael watched Luke with concern, seeing his inner dilemma. He hesitated.

"Is... is this about last night? Are you tired? Because if you are then y-"

"No, no. No I'm fine, Michael." Luke shushed him. "It has nothing to do with last night."

The spiky haired boy went quiet and Luke quickly tried to think of something to say. No backing out now. He got himself into the situation and he would have to deal with it.

"I just have something in my mind, is all."

Michael nodded slowly. "Okay... Wanna talk about it?" 

Luke licked his lips and shook his head. "Maybe tomorrow."

The other boy gave a quiet "Okay," and they both fell into silence. Michael wanted to respect Luke's privacy.

 

The moment however, was soon interrupted by a high pitched squeal. 

All four boys groaned and covered their ears.

Michael hissed at the sound and glared at the offending sound desk team. 

Calum sat up off the floor and looked around disapprovingly. "Dude, my ears."

Ashton made a face at it.

But Luke let out a silent cry and hunched over, twisting his face and covering his ears. His head already hurt and now this.

He waited a moment for it to stop ringing then quietly got up and slipped off the stage. The boys were still distracted with whatever caused it.

Hurrying through the back of the stage, he made his way down to the dressing room and walked in, glad to find it empty.

He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, but he knew he had to do something if he was going to go through with this show.

He ambled to the small kitchenette they had and started opening cabinets, not really a specific goal in mind.

 

Finding the familiar medicines, Luke pulled out the aspirin and popped three into his mouth. He dry swallowed them.

He hoped three was enough. He had a headache and blasting loud music wouldn't be helping it.

He shook his head and quickly left, hurrying to the stage before they noticed he left.

The show would begin very soon.


	11. Chapter 11

The airport security was long, the drives were long; everything seemed to go slowly. It had felt like forever waiting until the show. 

Calum shuffled along behind Ashton, following the older boy to the dressing room. 

"We've got 15 minutes, Ashton. Could you go any slower?" He pointed out.

Ashton didn't reply and just continued with his annoyingly, slow walk. He knew he was probably enjoying this.

Calum rolled his eyes and tried to duck around him.

"What- Ash! Put me down!" 

Ashton laughed and hoisted him higher over his shoulder. 

"No can do, babe."

Calum huffed and twisted his hands into the fabric of the boy's tank top. He bobbed up and down with his walking. 

"Seriously, Ashton, put me down."

Ashton just chuckled at him. "You said you wanted to go to the dressing room. I'm taking you there. You should be thanking me."

Calum groaned. "Ashton..."  
He hit his back weakly with his fist, ignoring Ashton's no doubt smirking face.

A minute and a headache later, the two entered the busy dressing room where everyone was buzzing around. 

Luke immediately stopped and laughed at the sight of them. Calum glared at him. Michael also joined in and high-fived Ashton. Calum glared at him too.

"Alright, you can put me down n- Ashton! What the hell?!"

Calum was dropped unceremoniously onto the floor. 

Ashton opened his mouth to respond- most likely to just make fun at his expense- when a small lady came over and began tugging him away, babbling on about his terrible curls or something.

Calum snickered at his turned back and pushed off the floor, also being pulled away for a quick checkup.

Ten minutes later the boys were laughing and goofing around on their way to the stage. Calum was mainly entertained by Michael being his crazy self.

Two minutes to go. 

They huddled at the back in the cooling air, just beyond the stage stairs, waiting for their time to go up. It wasn't too big of a show today, considering they weren't on tour. 

Still, there was a couple hundred people there tonight and it was honestly beautiful. The stage was outside and it was around dusk. Calum could see a small portion of the sky. It would be an even better view on stage.

One minute to go.

A crew assistant quickly came to make sure all their earpieces were in before he clapped Ashton on the back.

"You're on! Go go go!"

Ashton grinned and looked at them before climbing the stairs and bursting on stage. The screams of the fans went crazy.

Calum smiled with the excitement and turned to Michael and Luke. Michael grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Luke smiled back at him.

A thought flitted through his mind at seeing him, but it disappeared before he could grasp it. He was sure it was something he was supposed to remember.

Frowning, he was startled back to reality.

"Boys, you're up!"

Calum was forced to forget about it. 

Shaking his head, he turned to the stairs and climbed them. He saw Luke follow behind him hesitantly, but Michael hurried him along. He wondered what that was about.

Ashton was playing the drum intro, leading to them coming on stage.

As he climbed, Calum's heart sped and his excitement soared. When he reached the top step, the view was amazing. The screams were loud, fading into the coloured sky before them. It was beautiful.

He grinned and jogged along the stage, holding his hands up. The sounds magnified.

Luke and Michael copied him, getting the same reaction and standing behind their seperate floor microphones.

The flickering lights of the crowd's phones spread before them, the sunset sky behind them. He felt a cool breeze ruffle by him and shivered.

"Alright, Denver!" Luke yelled.

Ashton played quietly in the background. Calum and Michael watched Luke take control as lead singer. 

He hadn't noticed Luke much today, he realised. Other than the incident on the flight, which wouldn't be a problem now.

"Let's hear some screams!"

And they screamed alright.

He laughed and Luke smiled.

"Now, first off, we want to thank you guys for inviting us to play in this beautiful city," Luke started.

"We won't waste much time, so, let's just go for it! The first song we will be starting off tonight with is Amnesia. You know the lyrics, so sing loud with us!"

He waved to them with a smile then stepped back and looked at Michael and Calum, signaling their beginning of the show.

Luke and Michael started them off, leading them in with the soft notes of their guitars.

Calum stepped up to the mic. He made sure to still play the bass correctly even though by now he could probably play it in his sleep.

"I drove by all the places you used to hang out getting wasted...

I thought about our last kiss, how it felt, the way you tasted..."

He sung the memorised lines, the crowd singing along with him.

"Cos I'm not fine at all!"

"I remember the day you told me you were leavin..." The rest of the band joined in, singing into the night for the crowd.

 

To say the night was going great was an understatement for Calum. It was amazing.  
They were playing well and the fans were amazing.

They played a selection of songs for them, also doing She looks so perfect and Try Hard.

But it wasn't until they were in the middle of the show singing Don't Stop, that things began to go a little wrong.


End file.
